Eddie Scott

Eddie Scott arrived in Reno, Nevada in 1950, coming from the Louisiana. He worked for the Southern Pacific Railroad at the Roundhouse in Sparks for a couple of years before moving to Herlong, Ca. in 1952. In 1957 Mr. Scott moved back to Reno to live and work. In 1961 he was elected President of the Reno/Sparks Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Color People (NAACP), served 4 years and was re-elected in 1967.

During his time as President of the NAACP, the honorable pioneer led several demonstrations and protests against the local casinos and hotels in the Reno/Sparks community. Eddie was just a young man with a family wanting the same access to public accommodations. In 1961 he joined with Attorney Charles L. Kellar, a legal trailblazer in Nevada to draft the civil rights legislation and Governor Grant Sawyer was a key person in getting this Civil Rights Law passed in Nevada. In the summer of 1963 Eddie organized a car caravan to head for Washington D.C. for a mass gathering at the Lincoln Memorial organized by Civil Rights legends Bayard Rustin and A Philip Randolph head of the Sleeping Car Porters Union. On May 7, 1998 in Carson City, Eddie and Senator Joe Neal were honored with a lifetime achievement award by the Reno-Sparks Branch of the NAACP.